It’s official!! Avenue of Sphinxes Opening

[Who2]

I am really, really bored with all this.
Going by previous 'extravaganzas it's going to be total crap.
Hopefully there will be a power outage, hopefully....

Ps: Anymore repetitive picture posts on my FB will be deleted along with their posters...

[newcastle]

Going by previous 'extravaganzas it's going to be total crap.

The only one i can remember is the Pharaohs’ mummies parade a few weeks ago...which was a great success. imho

P.S. The great thing about this forum is that you don’t have to log on if you don’t want to. The drawback is there’s no ability to “ cancel” posts that irritate.

P.P.S. Don’t think your efforts to distract us with Cassandric visions of gloom and doom and tales of darkest Clerkenwell have gone unnoticed!

But I suspect followers of this forum ( however few there are nowadays) are more interested in what’s going on in Luxor than in your area of London....or in your ever fertile mind.

[Teddyboy]

"Hopefully there will be a power outage, hopefully...."

At the bottom of Youseff Hassan Street there's a huge 4 wheeled generator parked. It has a 3 inch thick cable coming out of it and snaking over the wall into the new "Valley of the Sphinkes".

We rambled along to the WP this morning, for tea and coffee, but mainly for a nose around. Security seems to be getting more serious by the minute! Very few locals about, and those that are, are being stopped by some of the assorted security officials and questioned. Being mere tourists, of course, we weren't challenged!

After maybe an hour in the WP foyer, we were asked if we would mind moving into the bar. As we were leaving anyway, we didn't cause a fuss. Our usual seats had been occupied by more men from the security services, so we hadn't been too comfortable. It was surreal to cross the Corniche and find that we were the only non-security people along there at all. The river was silent, with not a felucca or cruiser in sight, only a few sleeping dahabiyas over on the Side of the Dead.

Seeing as the Corniche side of the Temple was not screened off, we thought that it might be nice to stroll along that way, but a besuited official, brandishing a walky-talky, politely gestured for us to turn up towards McDonalds. We didn't argue.

I'd asked if I could take pictures, but the request was denied, I'm sorry to say. Every 20 yards or so along the river side of the Corniche, there was a man stationed looking out to the river. Up towards and past McDonalds, they were only a couple of metres from each other, and closer in places!
Sharia Karnak was deserted except for us and our hundreds of personal guards, we felt quite safe I can tell you. I've never seen it so empty and quiet in 25 years! Suddenly, they all left their posts in the sun and made their way into the few off street coffee shops which had been allowed to stay open (probably for that very reason). It must have been break time, before the VIP's started to pass along. That seemed to be imminent, and time now!

I have to admit that whilst it's very strange, it is also quite exciting to be here to witness all this hoo-hah!

[newcastle]

Great post Teddyboy....almost made me feel as if I was there!

Whilst the expression “ over the top “ comes to mind regarding the security and other aspects of this shindig, it will be an event which lingers in the memories of those witnessing it for many years.

I’m totally envious .

P.S. Shame you couldn’t take any photos. You could have posted them here for Who 2’s delectation

[HEPZIBAH]

So today's the day! I have to say that, having seen some if the photographs, I would quite like to be there - as an unvited guest or as a fly on the wall - to witness this theatrical, dare I say, historical, event.
It's not that I have any great interest in the history that it is trying to recreate, but I do enjoy theatre and all that goes with it: costume, props, the whole staging, lighting etc. and from that point of view I think this would feed all my senses.

But I am not an invited guest or a fly on the wall. I am just some woman in the UK torn between impressed that the event is finally taking place and concern for all those local people both sides of the river whose lives and income have been badly affected by this. I'm particularly thinking of those who had their homes and busineses demolished to make way for the Avenue of Sphinx to be excavated further and joined up.
Of course, some people back then, and now, will no doubt benfit financially from it all, but they are going to be few and far between.

Unlike Who2, I do not wish a powercut on the event. Nor do I curse it with a sudden rain or sand storm. I hope the event goes off completely without negative incident and that it is success for whatever goal it is ultimately trying to achieve.

[newcastle]

Looks like it’s underway...click on link below to watch a beaming Sisi mincing up the avenue....


The day you knew would come is finally here are you ready?

Today is the opening of the Sphinx Avenue (Al-Kebbash Road) which start at 7.30 PM Cairo time and the recreation of the Opet festival.

There is a live stream which you can watch on the YouTube channel of Experience Egypt https://youtube.com/c/ExperienceEgypt

And a live stream can be watched on the YouTube channel of DMC / ON / CBC / Hayat / Mehwar and Luxor Times

Sphinx Avenue Opening Ceremony program:

The party begins with sunset on Thursday, November 25, and will start with a gradual panoramic lighting of Luxor Temple and the Rams Road, about 3 km long.

At the same moment, the West Bank, the Temple of Hatshepsut, and the Colossi of Memnon are lit, so that the laser lights go out, embracing the sky.

From the Nile, 3 floating goldfish designed in the pharaonic style will move, symbolizing the trinity of pharaonic deities, Amun, Mut and Khonsu.

Colorful sailboats will be launched in Luxor's visual identity colors.

A film about the launch of balloons in the sky of Luxor to celebrate the opening.

From inside the Luxor Temple, the official celebration begins with the departure of three palanquins symbolizing the Holy Trinity, carried by young people in pharaonic clothes, and led by banner bearers, to exit from the Holy of Holies through the first edifice of the temple, to the statues of the Sphinx, as the beginning of the path of rams.

With the beginning of the procession, the Philharmonic Orchestra, led by Maestro Nader Abbasi, will play the pharaonic music, and then the chant of Amun, which is revived with the same Pharaonic words.

The artist, Mohamed Hamaki, will participate in a welcome song for the visitors of Luxor, which will be broadcast in conjunction with a dance segment from the Savoy Market.

Recording a number of paragraphs at the Temple of Hatshepsut and Karnak, and a number of archaeological sites in the city, to be broadcast in conjunction with the celebration, similar to what happened in the procession of the mummies.

Equipping a number of horse carriages "carts" that characterize Luxor, and lighting their sides, as they will participate in re-embodiment of the famous Reda band's song "Luxor is our country is a country of tourists".

Follow Friends of Egypt support tourism to Egypt Facebook page. Make sure you turn notifications on to get notified every time we go live or post something new.

Experience the magic of Egypt where it all begins
(y) facebook.com/friendsofegyptsupporttourismtoegypt

#Egypt_Calls_You #Your_Vacation_In_Egypt #Travel_Egypt #SameGreatFeelings #ExperienceEgypt #ANewChapterAwaits #ThisIsEgypt #MinistryofTourismandAntiquities #SphinxAvenue #Ramsroad #Luxor #Egyptian #Egyptology #Archaeology #History #Civilization #Egypte #Egypt #Egitto #Ägypten #Egypten #Egipat #Egipt #Egipto #मिस्र #エジプト #埃及 #Αίγυπτος #이집트

[Who2]

It's cushion time, it's not sad, I shall try to think of a word. woeful ? pitiable.
Hope this is not worldwide, is there any singers ? lady gaga ? madonna ?

And once egyptian cinema was bigger than hollywood...
Oops! hold on, a few birds in diaphanous dresses ascending.

Wish the sound was louder...quite bollywood..

[Who2]

It's great I want to go and live there.
Forget the portaloos nobody has left their seats for over 2 hours...
Ps: Let's hope no Umm Kulthum, they'll be there till morning..

[newcastle]

Slightly marred....in my view....by the incessant, sycophantic praising of Sisi, all he’s done for Egypt, opening museums etc etc

I wouldn’t be surprised if they’d have claimed he built Karnak & Luxor temples....except he’s obviously too young.

A sour- faced Hawass is there glowering at El Anany and thinking “ that’s MY job you b*stard”

[HEPZIBAH]

Thanks for the link newcastle. I was only able to watch for the last 20 minutes. What little I saw made me want to see akk of it so hopefully it will remain available after tonight.

Of course, seeing an event on the screen can't be the same as being there in person, because you can never soak up the atmosphere in the same way. However, I do think that these days the online viewer often gets a better deal. Camera work has imoroved so much in recent years, not least since the advancement of the use of drones.

I did have a little giggle when I first saw the audiance. Not exactly huge, was it? They were beautifully spaced out. Was this Covid Prevention Distancing? Or was it because so few international dignitories could attend?

[newcastle]

@Hepzibah



There can’t have been much atmosphere generated amongst the hoi polloi....who couldn’t get anywhere near....so I don't think you missed much!

[Teddyboy]

"A sour- faced Hawass is there glowering at El Anany and thinking “ that’s MY job you b*stard”"

Call him what you will (as many do!) but I believe that he did more for Egypt's tourism than anyone else did in the past 50 years!

[newcastle]

"A sour- faced Hawass is there glowering at El Anany and thinking “ that’s MY job you b*stard”"

Call him what you will (as many do!) but I believe that he did more for Egypt's tourism than anyone else did in the past 50 years!

Certainly in terms of promoting the history!

Unfortunately, he has a “manner” which people seem to admire...or loathe .

I find his constant self-publicising very irritating....to the point that I cannot bear watching him on screen or reading any of his literary output.

His egyptological expertise has been widely criticised in academic circles.

In fact, apart from any positive achievements in raising the profile of egyptology, I cannot think of anything nice to say about him.

[Teddyboy]

After a teatime doze, we toddled off down to the Avenue where the road used to cross over, near the Emilio. There was the odd vehicle or bike, and one or two pedestrians knocking about and being shooed away by various types of Police. Other than that it was only my beloved and I and an Egyptian tourist couple who'd come all the way from Cairo, just to see the spectacle. (Poor b*****s, what a waste!)
Both of us couples went and stood actually at the low wall, overlooking the three 'barques' on their tea trolleys, which had just been left abandoned there. But not for long! We were moved back, and then further back until we were at the Chez Omar garden cafe! Hassan and Hussein dragged us in forcing lovely cool lemon drinks upon us. Of course we didn't mind that at all, the identical twins have been friends for almost 20 years.
After a while, the Cairean tourists came and joined us, and eventually the show started on the cafe's telly. It was boring beyond belief! Silly dancing, which even our Cairean friend agreed was completely inappropriate, and smiling popular singers, as well as El Sisi schmoozing his was around. This wasn't at all what people wanted to see. So, after an eternity of chatting and drinking hot chocolate and inhaling the second-hand shisha smoke from a blissfully ignorant Egyptian, we made our way home to "Our Luxor" and got the ceremony up on the old laptop.
When the real (proper) show got underway, I thought it was fabulous, an enormous feat of technical and artistic expertise, which we thoroughly enjoyed as we sat in our living room looking out at the lasers at the same time.
From outside of rooftop apartment, on our terrace, we had a great view of the crackers at the end. The booms of the explosions were deafening up here. I caught a great video of them, but don't know how to put it on here, sorry!

[BENNU]

"A sour- faced Hawass is there glowering at El Anany and thinking “ that’s MY job you b*stard”"

Someone behind him had told him to take off his hat, it was blocking their view.

[newcastle]

"A sour- faced Hawass is there glowering at El Anany and thinking “ that’s MY job you b*stard”"

Someone behind him had told him to take off his hat, it was blocking their view.

Better to have asked him to remove his head.

[BBLUX]

"A sour- faced Hawass is there glowering at El Anany and thinking “ that’s MY job you b*stard”"

Someone behind him had told him to take off his hat, it was blocking their view.

Better to have asked him to remove his head.

From personal experience and that of friends living here he has definitely got a reputation for being "inappropriate" with ladies and grabbing the acclaim from other who did the original work. Not someone I find likeable.

[newcastle]

From personal experience and that of friends living here he has definitely got a reputation for being "inappropriate" with ladies and grabbing the acclaim from other who did the original work. Not someone I find likeable.

This article from the Smithsonian tells you all you need to know about Hawass....

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/ ... -72874123/

But he’s still squirrelling away in the Western Valley and elsewhere in an ever more frantic search for that major discovery before he meets Osiris and that “ feather”.

[BBLUX]

From personal experience and that of friends living here he has definitely got a reputation for being "inappropriate" with ladies and grabbing the acclaim from other who did the original work. Not someone I find likeable.

This article from the Smithsonian tells you all you need to know about Hawass....

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/ ... -72874123/

But he’s still squirrelling away in the Western Valley and elsewhere in an ever more frantic search for that major discovery before he meets Osiris and that “ feather”.

Regarding his activity in the Western Valley, one of the guardians in the valley said to me a few years ago "He is looking in the wrong place but we cannot tell him. He will never find it"